Silk and Thieves
by Rednecks 'n Angels
Summary: A thief new to the town and an ex-assassin run into the four Winding Circle prodigies when a heist goes wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**** Arramel's Chapter ****

My lips curled to reveal my teeth as I glared at the drunken sot in front of me. Trust some high and mighty 'Lord' who had a little too much money to burn tonight to mistake ME for a 'lady of the evenin'. So what if I was wearing pants? It wasn't a CRIME for cryin' out loud! Still if he tried to touch me once more . . . I growled.

"I dun know what ye want, go t'other way!" I snarled, trying not to talk like his lot. When you weren't born to it, street talk was hard to get used to. He reached his hand out, alcohol-bright eyes looking at me expectantly. He tried to move forward, but stumbled over himself. His outstretched hand failed for something to keep him upright, and grasped on my shoulder. I ground my teeth, and my nails bit into my palms and I squeezed my hands tight to distract me enough from the idiot so I could get out of there without killing him. Killing a Lord isn't the smartest thing to do at the _best_ of times! Especially not when you're new to a town you wanna stay in for a while. He steadied himself and then looked at me, a goofy smile spreading across his face. I knew that look . . .

By the time his hands had moved enough for me to recognize their course of action, my elbow was smashing into his nose, while that hand grabbed his left wrist, and the other hand yanking a dagger out of its sheath. He howled in pain, and jerked away, and I let him go, grimacing. Fortunately for me, he was too drunk to remember what I looked like, but I had broken his nose, so there'd be a search soon. I put my dagger back as I took off running.

I had a hit planned tonight, needed some cash, and also needed to bribe my way into the local Thieves' 'guild' here. If I didn't, I'd have a lot of heat on my back if I stole anything they hadn't authorized. My eyes scanned the buildings down the alleys I flew through. Even though I was new, I had taken it upon myself to memorize the map of this city I'd found in my father's library. There!

I stopped abruptly in front of the door. A Pawn shop. Not too big of a hit I'm overstepping my place, but big enough it shows what I'm made of. I had to do this carefully, or I'd get in trouble. The Watch had already passed, so I was free for about ten minutes. I pulled out a pair of lock picks, and my fingers caressed the appropriate ones. Within seconds, I was disappearing through the door. I closed it behind me for safety. If I needed to make a quick exit, the cellar provided the perfect escape.

I quickly scanned the room, my night vision gracing me with the ability to take stock of my surroundings. Okay. Quickly, I went to work. Any of the really expensive items would be noticed right away, and it also had to be non-nondescript for easy, non-traceable sale.

My chest ached with longing as my gaze flitted over some expensive jewelry. But I just grabbed some small metal statues, some clothing to wrap up my choices, and then headed over to the beckoning safe.

The large padlock was more show then it was safe. It was off quicker than the door! I reached in and got the semi-precious stones inside, simple and pure-metal jewelry, as well as some cash.

My heart froze in my chest when I heard the back door open. It was almost silent, which meant the person who was doing it, wasn't supposed to be here. With great care, I closed the safe, slipped the lock back on, and gently locked it, all trying to refrain from making a noise. Whoever it was, they were massive. This tall silhouette showed up against what little light was in here, and I knew I had two options. Stay, and allow them to discover me, or ease my way over to the door, and then bolt. I chose the latter. Wrapping everything up swiftly so it wouldn't clink, I secured it under neath my clothes, and then edged over to the door, trying to fade in as if I were a shadow within a shadow. When I reached the door, they were carefully looking through, then turned suddenly.

Damn. I'd either been spotted, or they knew the place had been hit. I felt for the doorknob, and took off, feet hitting the ground silently, but fast. They took off after me, but I turned a corner, and scaled the wall, pressing my body flat against the roof. They turned the corner, and kept running, only pausing at the next intersection of alleys.

I got back to the ground, and then walked calmly in a distorted path to where I knew the Thieves' 'Guild' had to be. It was the only logical place that gave them accessibility, without being too close to the best targets. I had already made my tentative ventures to not only get a someone to vouch for me ((the thief told me where to show, and when to make my appearance. He'd seen me in action once, and I gave him my loot in exchange for a good word)) but to know how much I should bring in as an offering.

I slipped into the empty-looking warehouse, being careful not to disturb the thick layer of dust. I grabbed onto the railing that went around the entire wall, and eased myself along there. I was guessing veteran thieves got a better access point, but hey, it was probably all part of a test. I reached the other side of the building, my arms beginning to ache. Not even all my apparent training had prepared me for using them _this_ much! I let myself down carefully, and squeezed through the nearly imperceptable hole in the wall. I found myself in a tiny room. With a sigh, I felt along the floor for a loose floorboard, and then pulled on it. It came up with a section of the floor, to reveal a ladder. _Tch, of course they're not going to make it easy on you!_ I thought bitterly to myself, and started my descent. When I reached the bottom, I was in a medium-sized tunnel, barely big enough for me to walk hunched over.

The tunnel forked off several times, but a 'watermark' on the wall directed me which way to go each time. Finally, I reached a door, which I opened and emerged into a dimly lit room. It had no doors, and a stone floor. Other than that, it was empty. I closed the door behind me, and studied the floor. The stones looked too dark to have started that way naturally, and I got the feeling this was another test. Sure enough, the walls had holes in them. Great. A trap. So I had to make it to the other side without stepping on the wrong stone! I looked behind me to see what looked to be a constellation of stars on the back of the door. It wasn't anything I recognized, until I smirked. So that's the pattern! I followed the exact layout, and reached the other side. pressing my shoulder against the wall, I _pushed_.

It gave way beneath my weight, and I stumbled into a brightly lit room. The room had a lot of pillows in jewel tones, and had two other doors to it. The man who directed me, smiled slightly, and whispered into this other man's ear. The other man was dressed in a bright blue, and he looked at me curiously.

I pulled out all of my spoils, but didn't approach him. Instead, I spread them out on the ground before me, silent. I knew this game all too well. If I moved, that'd be a threat and the guards on either side on him would have my neck.

Just then, an angry-looking woman burst through the door, shattering the silence. First impression: she was _tall_. Second impression: she was armed. And she looked _very_ dangerous.

****Hey guys! Arramel here. I hope you enjoyed the start of our new story! This is actually a collaborative effort Jowen and I have been tinkering with for a while, so we're re-writing, editing and improving pieces that have already been written, and will start to continue once we run out of material.**

**Every other chapter will be written by me, and the rest by Jowen. Since this is a collaboration, the header at the top will tell you who's point of view we're looking out from. The chapters switch characters, so that's to help you not get confused. Next chapter, you see what's going on through Jo's eyes.**

**We're not going to run into Briar, Daja, Tris and Sandry for a bit yet, so bear with us as we set the story!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**- Arramel ****


	2. Chapter 2

**So I realize that this is much shorter then Arramels chapter but honestly. She's a way better writer then me so whatever. Plus, this is just kind of re-vamped from what I wrote a while ago... anyways! On with the story...**

**Yeah... Neither me or Arramel are Tamora Pierce so we dont own any of her characters or her world. We just play in it ^.^**

****Jowens Chapter****

Tonight was quickly taking a turn for the worst. I just left a 'meeting' with the Thief Lord. The first bad thing was that I asked him to let me do something 'cause he hasn't given me any assignments recently and quite frankly, I was getting bored. Maybe it had to do with the bar fight I got into the other night and he didn't want me on the streets cause I'd been a 'bad girl'. As if I couldn't take care of myself. I laughed quietly. I think he's overreacting. Just 'cause he's my best friend doesn't mean he can get all 'protective mother' on me. Honestly. What can I say? They started it. I was sitting there in my corner enjoying a nice cold thing of ale at the Four Leaf Clover (which is a really ironic name considering there seems to be a lot of fights there... aren't clovers supposed to be lucky? It's a more appropriate name for some kind of cheap gambling den) when some idiots start a fight and one goes flying and hits my table, spilling my drink. Well, like any sane person who likes their drink not spilled, I lost it. What kind of world is it when someone can't finish their drink in peace after a particularly harsh day? I suppose I made a scene. And maybe it was that I went back bruised and bloody. Not _my_ blood of course. I didn't mean to get them bloodied but is it my fault their faces couldn't take a punch in the nose without spraying blood all over? The Thief Lord (I call him by his name, Jason. Though not in public of course) obviously thinks so.

Anyways, so not only is Jason a little mad at me and reluctant to let me out, but when he finally did someone beat me too it!

Due to my training I slipped inside with ease. The only problem was a bar fight had I broken out so I had to take a slight detour, and was now later than I wanted to be. I looked around, searching for the jewelery and the coins I was going to nab. But the safe was already open and empty! I caught the tiniest of movements in the corner of my eye. A shadow by the back door that obviously wasn't supposed to be there. Whoever it was ran out of there quickly, probably figuring that they had been spotted. I chased them, but to make the whole night worse; I lost them. I couldn't tell what they looked like in the shadowed street but when I turned the corner they were gone. That person sure could run and fast if they got away from me! I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell they had gotten to but decided that it was useless and I might as well go see Jason and get my scolding over and done with.

I took one of many short cuts instead of having to pass through all those stupid tests and rotten tunnels that the poor new guys have to go through and instead slipped down a few passage ways that would get me to Him the quickest. I could feel a headache coming on and just wanted to go home and collapse on my bed to sleep this night away. I was close to his rooms when I decided I was still too pissed at being denied my treasures and really didn't think I wanted to face him again tonight.

Once is fine, twice is alright, but more than that is a little more than I could handle. Besides, what's the point? He'd only yell at me. For a best friend he's been getting on my nerves lately. Ever since we had ditched assassin's training, he's been jumpy, but lately its gotten worse. I hope that he hasn't gotten a lead on anything suggesting They're after us again. I don't think people are allowed to just walk out of training to be an assassin. They like to keep Their lapdogs under their thumbs. Nevertheless, he was still intolerable, so I changed direction by turning down a branching hallway that would bring me above ground to the broken down shack I used for my weapons practice to blow off a little steam. I had to pass through the room that the new members-to-be go through and since we hadn't had any new ones in the last few days I wasn't expecting anyone to be there I just burst through the door into the chamber.

In the room were the usual guards and a woman I didn't recognize. A very short woman. She must have been a good foot shorter than me and she had shoulder length dark red hair, with green eyes. She looked like I could snap her in second just by blowing on her. At her feet in offering was the goods I was supposed to have lifted tonight! "Who are you?" I looked at her suspiciously. I wasn't about to let her know I was the one in the store. Though she probably already knew it was me and was probably pretty smug about it, I'll just have to beat that out of her at some point. That is _if_ Jason didn't let her in. Which, knowing him . . . he would.

**...**

**Like I said... Way shorter... I told Arramel that we should combine the chapters to make them longer... Like each chapter starts with her POV and the last parts would be mine. Just cause I hate short chapters and since I'm not the aspiring author I'm not quite skilled enough to write a whole lot at once. So review and let me know what you think. She says it'll be confusing but I dont think so.**

**Jowen  
**

****and I don't like ^--- that idea :p BUT don't forget to review, even if its to say you don't like it, give us your opinion. Thanks!**

**Arramel**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

****Hey guys, Chapter 3 just in from everywhere ((essentially I got around to editing it)). Sorry about the delay, but I haven't been spending much time on the computer or anything. Well enjoy!****

Anger shuddered across her white skin, and I was shocked to find her eyes a dark purple - probably made darker by her rage. _Tch. Some thief she'll make with "Identify me now!" eyes like that!_ I thought contemptuously. "Who are you?" she had demanded, challenge coating every syllable, as if she was instead saying _"Who the HELL do you think you are, anyway?"_ I checked her, the way she moved reminding me of my pursuer. _Heh, so that's why she's so pissed._ To her annoyance, I smirked, and turned away from her, once again facing the man before me, as if dismissing her as unthreatening. She stiffened, and a hilt slid down in palm as a reflex to my insult.

"Sir." I said, nodding my head at him in respect. I lilted my speech to sound more like I came from the streets. The man wasn't the Lord himself, probably just as operative, so he didn't deserve _too_ much respect. Even thieves had a Code to follow though.

"Who are you?"

"Th' name's Mel."

"Last name?"

"None that needs knowin' " I responded with a shrug. Most of the people in these parts didn't have a last name, and if they did, they didn't use it. Names are information, information is power, and power could mean either they have control over you, or death down here.

"Huh. Okay, how about we send some'un along wit ya on yer next job?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, shocked "There's no way any'uns gonna be followin' me around 'n watchin' my style! 'Sides, two are gonna get caught 'n look more suspicious than one." he smiled approvingly. _Bloody tests._

"Why do you want to join?"

"I dun wanna get no one on me back fer stealin', see? 'N I get some'ere t'make a nest 'n all. Fair trade for givin' some'un a cut methinks."

"Good. You get a quarter of each job you pull, 'till you cen proove to us you pull the big 'uns good. Since yer new, you cen bunk down with Jo 'ere."

"Thanks sir." I responded, and winced inwardly. With my luck, she was going to kill me. 'Jo' went rigid with anger, her grip on the hilt in her palm getting firmer until her knuckles went white. I turned to her, and challenged her with my eyes. There was no _way_ I was going to take any of her crap. She may be twice my size, but that hadn't stopped me before . . . still, something set me off about the way she held her weapons. It was too . . . precise. Everything else about her was uncontrolled, wild even, but that was uncanny. If I didn't know better I'd say she'd had some training on assassination. I shuddered inwardly on the thoughts that concept brought up, still keeping up the facade that I was defiant. If you had no spine, you had nothing in this business.

The Operative left through the door that hadn't been used yet, his guards with him. My 'sponsor' went with them, casting me an encouraging wink as he left. Now it was just me and her. Pro'ly yet another test to see how I could win out against someone like her. Luckily, I was under the Lord's technical protection and she couldn't _kill_ me without consequences. Whether or not she was worried about those consequences . . .

****Hope you liked it! Please comment regardless to tell us what you think. I'm not used to sharing my writing so liberally . . . anyways, please take care!**

**Have a good one :D**

**Arramel****


	4. Chapter 4

**Oooookay. So this has got to be the longest chapter I've ever done and its really mostly information about Jo and her past and a bit about how her and Jason became so close.  
I'm kind of going on a ledge and not having Arramel edit it before it goes up cause I figure ya'll have waited long enough and I'm not quite sure its such a good idea cause I'm not quite confident in my writing just yet but whatever. Enjoy.**

****Jo's Chapter****

My body shook with anger as I glared at the cause of this whole pain in the ass that this night was turning out to be. Honestly! What was he thinking putting her with me? She's lucky she's protected. I took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself and cleared my head like I'd been taught. This night would only be longer if I killed her. I sighed and shrugged.

"Well come on then the pleasure won't be worth the trouble I'd get later if I hurt you." I flashed a grin. "As bothersome as it is, guess you'll be bunking with me."

I turned and headed out the door. Looking over my shoulder I saw that she was still standing there. With an exasperated sigh I turned to her,

"I don't know about you. But I don't much like bein' underground so you'll be stayin' with me above ground."

I turned to the door again and opened it and walked out into one of many halls that made up this huge rats nest of a hide out. The hall was lit by a few sporadic lanterns since it wasn't one that was used as often as most of the others. We walked past a few doors that led off to various rooms and parts of the Court. At the end of the hall was a set of stairs that led to the surface. We emerged from the floor in a little one room building. It wasn't a very well kept building but it served our purpose nicely. I lead her through the windy streets my senses were alert for the slightest sound that would show someone was following us. I'm sure hers was too. She was probably expecting me to attack her as well. If it came to a fight between me and her I'm not quite sure who would win. All I know is that I would put up one heck of a fight. I'm not one of the best, if not the best, under the Thief Lord for nothing.

Even though I ran away from those gods cursed captors before I fully completed my training I was still a formidable foe. Jason is just as good as me. Probably better considering he is a bit older than me and he had gotten farther than me in the training they put us through. That's right. Jason was there with me. That's how we became best friends in the first place. We were both street rats, I was only 4 years old. Never even knew my ma. Jason was six; he tells me that he can remember little things about her, mostly just her looks. We were in that damn place for 12 years. Every day the same old boring stuff, hand-to-hand-combat, knife fighting, and things like that. Everything an assassin would need to know. They taught some of us (including me and Jason) to read, write, and even speak like we weren't from the streets. They only taught the best that kind of stuff, so we'd fit in when they sent us to kill a rich merchant or a noble. I'm trying to return to speaking like a street person just so I'll blend in more, how many common people do you know that speak like they do? Not many that's for sure. Anyways, you were taught till you were 13 and you were deemed as skilled enough then you would be partnered with a more senior assassin, who were usually only 2 or 3 years older then you, and you would stick with them and see how it's done for a few months. If you survived, which is a big if since many got caught and were never heard from again, then you were on your own when pulling jobs. I got lucky because I was partnered with Jason and surprisingly we became really good friends. He got me out of a fair bit of tight places when he could have just left me.

If you make it through all that then you're a full-fledged assassin and toy for the bastards higher up that say "Kill him" and you do. You learn to not pay attention to who you're sent to kill. You only have their name and where they live. You never want to know more. If you do then it makes the job harder, even for a 16 year old who has known nothing more than killing for her whole life. It was a mistake like that that shook me from my little self made shell and made me realize that what I'd been doing was stupid and I was sick of it.

~Flashback~

I was sixteen and I didn't care who I had to kill. I went to the house and after climbing the wall, being careful of the glass that I knew would be there to discourage thieves, and snuck in through a window. I carefully edged my way into the house slipping from shadow to shadow silently down hall to the room that I know he was in because it was the only one that still had a light on. The door was slightly ajar, enough for me to look in and see that it was a man and his daughter. She looked to me my age maybe a year younger.

'Shit... She better leave soon or this will be slightly more troublesome.' I thought to myself. I saw the girl throw herself on her father sobbing and mumbling "thank you" Over and over like he'd just saved her from some terrible fate. Her father just hugged her close and told her, "There was no way I was going to let that man take you from me my daughter."

I remembered my orders 'Torture him till he agrees to let his daughter be wed to Mr. Morensi'. At the time I had forgotten who that was but now I realized that Mr. Morensi was 40 year old fat lord who was filthy rich with a reputation in the taverns, around the gambling tables and of beating his women. Not that he could keep one for long. All of a sudden the huge walls I had built up over the years around my heart got a big crack in it and I was swamped with guilt because I had to kill a man who had done nothing but protect his daughter. It was then that I decided that I didn't have to do this anymore. I didn't have to do their bidding and their dirty work. The next thing I felt was relief. Like a huge burden had been taken from me. I slipped out of the house again. I knew what I had to do. If I just ditched now then the sadistic bastards would just send someone else and the man would have no choice. I couldn't let that happen. I flew through the alley ways. I was barely out of breath when I got back to where they kept us all. I checked in with the head of my wing that were of the ages 15-19 and told her I was back and that I finished the job. She didn't give me another look. Just like normal. Come in, tell 'em you're done, and off you go to your room and after cleaning up your go to sleep since it's usually the middle of the night before you get back. This time when I got to my room and slipped inside I let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Several lumps on the floor showed me that most of the other girls were asleep. There were some empty places but that was to be expected. I made my way over to the window and jumped up onto the sill so I could reach the room directly above mine that happened to be Jason's. I pulled myself onto the ledge and tapped ever so slightly on his window. We often ended up at each other's windows sometimes to talk, sometimes to just enjoy the company.

"Jo?" A sleepy voice whispered out the now open window.

"Yeah, Jason... I need your help."

"Uh oh... What'd you do now...?"

"Jee thanks for your vote of confidence." I started.

"Yeah yeah yeah, okay. What is it?"

I told him the whole story of what happened tonight and that I was sick of being someone's lapdog.

"I need your help Jay. I can't do this one on my own. I'll never ask you for anything ever again. If I don't kill him then he'll get her and I just can't let that kind of thing happen anymore. I just...mmm!" I was cut off by a calloused finger on my lips effectively cutting me off.

"Hush woman. I'll help you. On one condition: When you leave... I go too."

I grinned at him and did something I had never done before. I hugged him.

"I was hoping you'd say that," I chuckled when I saw the slight blush that rose to his cheeks when I let him go.

"Okay. Grab all your weapons and things. And meet me in the next alley." With that I slipped back to my window and walked to where I had told Jason to go, careful to make sure no one had followed me.

I only had to wait for five minutes tops before I saw the huge silhouette that was Jason. Seriously, he was huge. He towered five inches above my already tall 6 feet and was nothing but shear muscle. It always confused me, weren't assassins supposed to be small and stealthy? Not huge, tall, and stealthy? Actually these days Jason was more of a thug then anything, mostly just used to protect all high and might people.

We made our way to his house taking back streets and sticking to the shadows all the while being mindful of all the trash and just generally not nice things that were in our way.

Once we found his house it was easy to stash our few belongings that weren't weapons away somewhere that we could grab them quickly and make a hasty departure, and get inside. Jason stood on guard while I slipped into his room. Looking around I saw a whole bunch of pillows and expensive rugs. There was also a huge bed that was covered in orange silk sheets.

'Damn this guy has too much money for his own good. Well he won't need it where I'm sending him,' I thought with grim satisfaction.

I froze as I heard a really loud noise that came from the general direction of the bed. But relaxed again as I realized it was just him snoring. I crept over to the bed to be greeted by the sight of Mr. Morensi completely naked splayed out on his bed spread eagle. Lucky for me his lower half was still covered by the sheets. I'd be scarred for life if he wasn't. I had to hurry before his sad excuse for a guard decided he might do his job and check on his employer. I glided to the head of the bed and quickly slid a knife from my belt. It was a plain one but sharp, very sharp. I quickly and efficiently slit his throat, careful not to let any of his blood get on me. He didn't even make a noise. I quickly left the room and motioned for Jason that it was time to go. We climbed the wall again and grabbed our stuff.

By the time he was discovered we'd be long gone.

~End super huge flashback~

I shook myself back to reality. That was two years in the past and I just keep hoping they don't find us. I sighed to myself, chances are I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight thanks to a thick skulled underling who stuck me with this girl. I just hope Jason can find somewhere else to dump this girl and take her off my hands or I won't be sleeping for a long while still. What a pain in the ass...

...

**So thats it... So yeah. I didn't run this past Arramel before I published this cause she seems to have dropped off the face of the earth... that or she's just too busy to write... And for those who are reading Like Father, Unlike Daughter I AM trying to get her to keep writting it but she's being difficult... -.-'**

**Anyways. Yeah. Since this is my first chapter completely on my own be gentle okay, and try to ignore any mistakes :P**


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